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260 ¢ U.S. Coast Pilot 3, Chapter 9 Chapter 3, Pilot Coast U.S. Chart Coverage in Coast Pilot 3—Chapter 9 76°W 75°30'W NOAA’s Online Interactive Chart Catalog has complete chart coverage http://www.charts.noaa.gov/InteractiveCatalog/nrnc.shtml 76°30'W MOBJACK BAY 37°20'N VIRGINIA YORK RIVER CHESAPEAKE BAY POQUOSON RIVER 12222 BACK RIVER 12224 Cape Charles Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel JAMES RIVER 12245 12254 Hampton 37°N Newport News HAMPTON ROADS 12255 LITTLE CREEK Norfolk Cape Henry NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN 12253 LAFAYETTE RIVER LYNNHAVEN BAY Virginia Beach 12221 26 SEP2021 WESTERN BRANCH Portsmouth ELIZABETH RIVER 26 SEP 2021 U.S. Coast Pilot 3, Chapter 9 ¢ 261 Chesapeake Bay Entrance (10) METEOROLOGICAL TABLE – COASTAL AREA OFF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA Between 36°N to 38°N and 72°W to 76°W YEARS OF WEATHER ELEMENTS JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC RECORD Wind > 33 knots ¹ 4.9 5.5 4.7 2.3 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.3 1.1 2.1 3.6 5.0 2.5 Wave Height > 9 feet ¹ 9.2 9.6 8.0 4.7 2.1 1.5 0.9 1.3 2.8 5.5 6.5 9.8 4.9 Visibility < 2 nautical miles ¹ 3.1 4.4 4.8 4.7 5.2 3.6 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.7 1.7 1.9 2.9 Precipitation ¹ 9.3 8.3 6.9 5.5 4.9 4.3 4.2 4.1 4.7 5.6 6.3 7.7 5.9 Temperature > 69° F 1.0 0.9 1.3 4.3 16.1 61.5 96.3 96.9 76.8 25.9 6.6 1.7 33.7 Mean Temperature (°F) 47.6 47.6 50.4 56.2 63.3 71.9 77.6 77.9 73.9 66.1 58.6 51.6 62.3 Temperature < 33° F ¹ 6.2 5.5 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.8 1.2 Mean RH (%) 76 76 76 78 81 82 82 81 79 76 74 75 78 Overcast or Obscured ¹ 38.3 36.7 33.9 27.9 26.0 22.7 21.0 19.8 20.7 22.7 26.3 34.2 27.3 Mean Cloud Cover (8ths) 5.2 5.1 4.8 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.2 4.2 4.5 5.1 4.6 Mean SLP (mbs) 1019 1017 1017 1016 1016 1016 1017 1017 1018 1018 1018 1019 1017 Ext. Max. SLP (mbs) 1047 1047 1039 1040 1038 1036 1035 1037 1036 1044 1044 1045 1047 Ext. Min. SLP (mbs) 982 978 978 987 990 991 996 995 993 990 986 986 978 Prevailing Wind Direction N NW N SW S SW SW SW NE N N NW N Thunder and Lightning ¹ 0.6 0.7 0.9 1.0 1.7 1.8 2.7 2.7 1.4 1.0 0.7 0.6 1.3 ¹ Percentage Frequency (1) This chapter describes the deep-draft southerly 2 to 4 percent of the time from fall through early spring, in entrance to Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean; the bay. Gales can occur from September through March. the waters of Lynnhaven Roads, Lynnhaven Inlet, Little (6) Another problem during this period is poor visibilities. Creek, Hampton Roads, Willoughby Bay, Lafayette River Fog forms most often when warm, moist air moves across and Elizabeth River, including Western, Eastern and the bay’s cold waters from the southeast through south. Southern Branches; and the ports of Hampton, Newport Most of the 30 to 40 dense fog days each year develop News, Norfolk, Berkley, Portsmouth and Chesapeake. from January through April. Dense fog is more common (2) offshore and should be expected on unusually warm, COLREGS Demarcation Lines humid winter and spring days. Fog over particularly cold (3) The lines established for Chesapeake Bay are waters with winds less than 10 knots may drop visibilities described in 33 CFR 80.510, chapter 2. to near zero. Precipitation, particularly snow, may also hamper visibilities. (4) (7) When temperatures drop below about 28°F (-2.2°C) Weather and winds are blowing at 13 knots or more, there exists a (5) This summary provides climatological information potential for moderate superstructure icing. This potential applicable to the entire Chesapeake Bay. From November exists in the bay from November through March; January through April, Chesapeake Bay, particularly the southern and February are the worst months when the potential portion, is rough sailing. Storms moving up the Atlantic exists about 3 percent of the time. coast generate winds out of the northeast quadrant ahead (8) During March and April, cold fronts often trigger of their centers; speeds often reach 30 to 50 knots. Several fast-moving narrow bands of thunderstorms. Preceding days of strong and gusty northwest winds may follow. the cold front these bands move eastward at 10 to 30 Strong cold fronts from the west can generate 25- to knots generating lightning and gusty winds of gale force. 45-knot gusts over open water. Waves associated with Thunderstorms are also a bay-wide threat during spring strong winds can be rough and bad chop develops when and summer when they develop about 6 to 9 days each these winds oppose strong tidal currents. Northerlies of month. They may develop over land during the afternoon 25 knots or more, over a long fetch of the bay, can easily as warm, humid air is forced aloft by surface heating. build 8- to 10-foot seas in the central portion and 5- to The thunderstorm may precede a cold front. When a 7-foot seas in the south. Seas of 8 feet or more occur about cold front passes during a period of maximum afternoon heating thunderstorms may be severe. In spring and early 262 ¢ U.S. Coast Pilot 3, Chapter 9 26 SEP 2021 (11) METEOROLOGICAL TABLE – COASTAL AREA OFF CHESAPEAKE BAY Between 36°N to 40°N and 76°W to 77°W YEARS OF WEATHER ELEMENTS JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC RECORD Wind > 33 knots ¹ 0.4 1.0 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.3 1.2 1.3 1.3 0.8 0.6 Wave Height > 9 feet ¹ 0.8 0.4 0.8 1.0 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.8 0.7 0.5 Visibility < 2 nautical miles ¹ 9.1 8.1 5.9 6.9 5.7 3.0 2.1 2.8 4.0 4.4 9.6 11.0 5.9 Precipitation ¹ 9.3 10.9 9.0 7.0 6.2 4.2 5.8 6.6 8.4 6.1 7.6 10.7 7.6 Temperature > 69° F 0.0 0.2 1.9 6.8 30.2 77.4 96.5 93.1 72.4 18.2 3.9 0.4 35.6 Mean Temperature (°F) 41.8 42.9 49.2 57.1 66.9 75.5 79.1 77.9 74.1 64.4 53.9 44.0 61.6 Temperature < 33° F ¹ 17.3 12.7 2.6 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 9.1 3.2 Mean RH (%) 74 72 72 70 75 75 77 77 76 75 73 73 74 Overcast or Obscured ¹ 33.5 35.2 28.8 26.0 23.4 19.8 20.3 20.9 24.1 22.6 26.3 32.8 25.9 Mean Cloud Cover (8ths) 4.5 4.6 4.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.6 4.6 4.4 3.7 4.2 4.6 4.3 Mean SLP (mbs) 1020 1018 1018 1017 1016 1016 1016 1017 1017 1018 1019 1019 1017 Ext. Max. SLP (mbs) 1046 1046 1039 1040 1037 1032 1031 1032 1033 1039 1041 1041 1046 Ext. Min. SLP (mbs) 988 985 987 991 991 994 998 997 994 992 990 987 985 Prevailing Wind Direction N N N N SW SW SW SW NE N N N SW Thunder and Lightning ¹ 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.6 1.0 0.9 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.4 ¹ Percentage Frequency summer they usually develop to the west of the bay and long with a greatest width of 23 miles. The bay is the move toward the northeast at speeds of 25 to 35 knots. approach to Norfolk, Newport News, Baltimore and many Occasionally thunderstorms will approach from the lesser ports. Deep-draft vessels use the Atlantic entrance, northwest; these are often severe, tend to move very fast, which is about 10 miles wide between Fishermans Island and can pack winds reaching 70 to 90 knots. Severe squall on the north and Cape Henry on the south. Medium-draft lines can also generate tornadoes that may move over the vessels can enter from Delaware Bay on the north via bay developing waterspouts; winds can exceed 200 knots Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and light-draft vessels in these systems. By midsummer, fronts become weaker can enter from Albemarle Sound on the south via the and less frequent, and thunderstorms are mainly the air Intracoastal Waterway. mass type that move at 10 to 20 knots and usually do not (14) Safety/Security Zones have been established organize into a squall line.